Overview
Jillian Hewitt represents plaintiffs and defendants at trial and on appeal in state and federal courts throughout the country. Her practice spans a variety of subject matters, including securities litigation, class actions, contracts, civil rights law, pharmaceutical litigation, and other high-stakes complex cases.
RESULTS
Hewitt plays a critical role on each trial team she joins and regularly secures winning outcomes for her clients, who range from universities and Fortune 100 companies to individuals and small businesses.
Hewitt won a declaratory judgment for litigation finance investment fund Virage Capital Management in litigation regarding a fee sharing agreement covering fees from more than 1,500 underlying cases. Hewitt put on Virage’s attorneys’ fees expert at trial and led efforts drafting Virage’s pre- and post-trial briefing. The court agreed with Virage’s interpretation of the contract, adopted Virage’s proposed declaratory judgment nearly word-for-word, and awarded Virage the vast majority of the attorneys’ fees it sought.
In a pro bono case on behalf of New York University, Hewitt helped secure a win against FASORP, a Texas organization that alleged that the NYU School of Law and the NYU Law Review discriminate against white men in their efforts to foster diversity. Hewitt was a key drafter of NYU’s successful motion to dismiss all claims against it in the trial court and its appellate brief before the Second Circuit. She also led efforts on NYU’s successful opposition to FASORP’s petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court. Click here for the Second Circuit’s decision, and read more about the decision in Reuters, ABA Journal, and in Law360’s coverage* (*subscription required).
On behalf of a group of PIPE and SPAC investors, Hewitt intervened in the SEC’s action against digital music streaming service, Akazoo, securing a $35 million settlement in a case related to allegations that Akazoo defrauded investors and lied about business prospects before and after its 2019 special purpose acquisition company merger. The investor group represented by Hewitt and her team was awarded $30.1 million of the settlement ($25.3 million after fees and expenses). Read more.
Hewitt represented the country’s second-largest oil company, Chevron, in a $50 million breach of contract and royalties action involving oil and gas wells drilled in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. Hewitt defended the deposition of Chevron’s principal expert witness and briefed and argued several pre-trial motions. The case settled on favorable, confidential terms on the eve of trial.
BACKGROUND
Hewitt serves as a member of the associate board of the Women’s Prison Association, a non-profit organization that provides resources and support to women at all stages of involvement in the criminal legal system.
Hewitt joined Susman Godfrey after clerking on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and earned her J.D. from Yale Law School.
Notable Representations
- Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Purdue Pharma et al. (Baltimore City Circuit Court of Maryland) Representing the City of Baltimore in its opioid litigation. Hewitt has argued nearly a dozen motions to dismiss the City’s case and has deposed several manufacturer- and distributor-defendant witnesses.
- In re: Lincoln National COI Litigation (E.D. Pa.) Representing a putative class of purchasers of universal life insurance policies in a matter challenging cost of insurance increases by Lincoln. Hewitt took the deposition of one of Lincoln’s key corporate representatives, obtaining critical technical information needed for the team to build its case.
- Howard v. Harris (Harris County District Court of Texas) Won a declaratory judgment on behalf of litigation finance investment fund Virage Capital Management in litigation regarding a fee sharing agreement covering fees from more than 1,500 underlying cases. Hewitt put on Virage’s attorneys’ fees expert at trial and drafted Virage’s pre- and post-trial briefing. The court agreed with Virage’s interpretation of the contract, adopted Virage’s proposed declaratory judgment nearly word-for-word, and awarded Virage the vast majority of the attorneys’ fees it sought.
- Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preferences v. New York University (S.D.N.Y.) Working pro bono, helped secure a win against FASORP, a Texas organization who alleged the NYU School of Law and the NYU Law Review discriminate against white men in their efforts to foster diversity. Hewitt was a key drafter of NYU’s successful motion to dismiss all claims against it in the trial court and its appellate brief before the Second Circuit. She also led efforts on NYU’s opposition to FASORP’s petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court. Click here for the Second Circuit’s decision, and read more about the decision here, here, here,* and here* (*subscription required).
- SEC v. Akazoo S.A. (S.D.N.Y.) Intervened in the SEC’s action against digital music streaming service, Akazoo, securing a $35 million settlement on behalf of a group of PIPE and SPAC investors who alleged that Akazoo defrauded them and lied about business prospects before and after its 2019 special purpose acquisition company merger. The investor group represented by Hewitt and her team was awarded $30.1 million of the settlement ($25.3 million after fees and expenses). Read more.
- Broussard et al. v. Chevron (15th Judicial District Court of Louisiana) Represented Chevron in a $50 million breach of contract and royalties action involving oil and gas wells drilled in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. Hewitt defended the deposition of Chevron’s principal expert witness and briefed and argued several pre-trial motions. The case settled on favorable, confidential terms on the eve of trial.
- Fish v. Goulston & Storrs PC (Suffolk County Superior Court of Massachusetts) Represented John Fish in an action against Goulston & Storrs PC alleging legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and willful violations of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, arising out of a failed billion-dollar real estate development project in Boston’s Back Bay. The case settled favorably for Mr. Fish pursuant to a confidential settlement agreement following Hewitt’s deposition of several Goulston witnesses.
- R2 Investments LDC v. Quorum Health Corporation, et al. (Williamson County Circuit Court of Tennessee) Secured a favorable settlement for a private investment firm in a securities case against one of the nation’s largest hospital operators. The deal was secured after several depositions of Defendants’ fact witnesses, eight of which were taken by Hewitt.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
- Benjamin Scharps Prize (awarded for the best paper written by a third-year student, Yale Law School)
Clerkships
- Honorable Andrew D. Hurwitz, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Honorable John G. Koeltl, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
Education
- Yale Law School (J.D.)
- Princeton University (A.B., magna cum laude)
Publications
- Note, Fifty Shades of Gray: Sentencing Trends in Major White-Collar Cases, 125 Yale L. J. 1018 (2016). This paper was featured by Forbes magazine in a August 2018 feature article titled, The Illusion That White-Collar Offenders Get Greatly Reduced Sentences.
